Listless, Kagome watched as the hours slid by. Her muscles ached, those of her lower stomach most of all. She felt as though she’d been poisoned, which she supposed wasn’t too far from the mark. Returning from gods-knew-where with bits of bloody rabbit hide dangling from his muzzle, the wild dog paced around her whining low in his throat. At Kagome’s lack of response, he licked what he could of the gore matting his face and then ventured, sniffing, toward the acrid puddle glinting a few feet from her.

“Don’t you dare,” Kagome snapped hoarsely, as he lingered a bit too long over the puddle for her liking. Even if it was ninety percent sake she’d thrown up, she didn’t think she could keep whatever was left in her down if he happened to start lapping at it. “That’s disgusting.”

Tail curling in, the dog slunk back to her side, where he flopped down against her, shaggy and panting and reeking. Between the warmth, weight, and stench of him, Kagome found herself dry-heaving anyway. Keeled over in the lumpy dirt, she groaned, her face sticky with tears and other things, as the dog licked her from cheek to chin. In a few spots on her neck and wrists, her skin itched with the bites of his cast-off fleas.

So, the miko thought sourly, this was what rock-bottom felt like.

Wincing, she managed to drag herself up as the sun began to set. Bleary-eyed and nauseous still, she and the dog wandered back toward the house. Just the idea of climbing up the porch steps assaulted her with vertigo. Gritting her teeth, Kagome forced herself up them anyway. Pausing at the door, she braced her lancing brow against the frame. At her knee, the dog scratched and whimpered, making a production out of shuddering from the evening cold.

Kagome frowned down, considering—both him and the prospect of being alone with herself. “If you want to go inside, you’ll have to be bathed. I won’t have you dirtying up the place. Got it?”

The dog stared up at her, cocking his head to one side.

Pulling the curtain back, she waved him in ahead of her. “Well, go on, then.”

The dog trotted forward. While he rested on his haunches inside the threshold, Kagome trudged toward the tub. She’d forgotten to empty it out after her soak that morning, and now she was grateful for it. Not even bothering to warm the water up, she stripped off her clothes and sank straight down into the chilly darkness of it. Before she could even start to scrub at herself, there was the scrabble of claws on wood as the dog hefted himself up and over the ledge after her, and hit the surface with a splash.

What felt like half the water in the tub sloshed over the sides as the dog righted himself with a shake. Kagome glowered. Tasting dirt in her mouth, she swiped the spray of fur and water from her face, and figuring he wasn’t that much filthier than she was, proceeded to scrub them both down together. All things considered, he was taking to this whole bathing thing pretty well—until Kagome uncorked a small bottle from a tray nearby and he made to leap from the tub.

“It’s got a strong scent, I know,” she grunted. Throwing her arms around his middle, she attempted to wrestle him back in. “But trust me, the fleas hate it too!”

Kagome’s words fell on deaf ears. Still, she managed to sprinkle more than a few drops of the tincture into his fur before he bounded free of her and escaped out into the yard. Rinsing herself off, Kagome slipped on a robe and went outside to find him rolling around in the splintery brown grass.

At the sight of her, he stopped wallowing and padded over, fluffed and frisky and flea-less. In the burgeoning twilight, he seemed more like an apparition than ever, with his wispy fur and glinting gold eyes. Leaning over him, Kagome picked a few bits of leaf from his hide as she petted him from scruffy neck to wagging tail.

“Ikiryou,” she decided, “that’s what I’ll call you.”

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi

Lol kinda filler, I know, but doggies are sweet 🙂

Consider this one a blog exclusive 😉 <3